LOCATION SIEVERS                 TX

Established Series
LCB-GWC-KBH-AKS
09/2020

SIEVERS SERIES

The Sievers series consists of deep, somewhat poorly drained, moderately high saturated hydraulic conductivity slowly (moderately permeable) soils that formed from predominantly loamy materials dredged from rivers, bays, canals, and bayous. These gently sloping soils occur on flats in coastal areas. Slopes range from 0 to 3 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 1397 mm (55 in),and mean annual air temperature is about 21 degrees C (70 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, dredgic, mixed, subactive, nonacid, hyperthermic Anthroportic Udorthents

TYPICAL PEDON: Sievers loam--wildlife land. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated)

^A--0 to 30 cm (0 to 12 in); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) loam, light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) dry; weak medium subangular blocky structure; slightly hard, friable, nonsticky, nonplastic; common fine roots; 5 percent sand sized shell fragments; moderately saline; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary. (Thickness is 10 to 46 cm [4 to 18 in])

^C1--30 to 38 cm (12 to 15 in); dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) stratified loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; weak bedding planes; hard, firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few fine roots; few brown organic stains; few fine shell fragments; moderately saline; moderately alkaline; clear smooth boundary.

^C2--38 to 61 cm (15 to 24 in); mottled dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2), gray (10YR 6/1) and brown (10YR 5/3) stratified clay loam; common weak bedding planes; hard, very firm, sticky, plastic; few fine roots; few brown organic stains; common medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) masses of iron; moderately saline; moderately alkaline. (Thickness is 10 to 64 cm [4 to 25 in]) (Thickness is 0 to 46 cm [0 to 18 in])

^Cg1--61 to 76 cm (24 to 30 in); gray (10YR 5/1) stratified loam, gray (10YR 6/1) dry; weak bedding planes; hard, firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few fine roots; few thin strata of loamy fine sand; few brown organic stains and common dark gray (10YR 4/1) organic stains; common fine faint gray (10YR 6/1) iron depletions; common fine prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron; moderately saline; moderately alkaline.

^Cg2--76 to 114 cm (30 to 45 in); gray (10YR 6/1) loam, light gray (10YR 7/1) dry; weak bedding planes; slightly hard, firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few fine roots; 5 percent sand sized shell fragments; common fine faint light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) iron depletions; common fine and medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) and brown (10YR 5/3) masses of iron; moderately saline; moderately alkaline. (Thickness is 12 to 140 cm [5 to 55 in])

^Cg3--114 to 152 cm (45 to 60 in); mottled light brownish gray (10YR 6/2) and dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) stratified loam and fine sandy loam; weak bedding planes; hard, firm, slightly sticky, slightly plastic; few fine shell fragments; moderately saline; neutral.

TYPE LOCATION: Galveston County, Texas; from the intersection of the intercoastal waterway and the Sun Oil Company canal about 3.2 miles northwest of Caplen, go 0.2 mile east along the intercoastal waterway and 30 feet north from waterway in marsh.

USGS topographic quad: Caplen; TX
Latitude: 29 degrees, 29 minutes, 58.3 seconds N
Longitude: 94 degrees, 33 minutes, 44.86 seconds W

Decimal Degrees
Latitude: 29.4995389
Longitude: -94.5624611
Datum: WGS84

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS: This is a soil that shows bedding planes as weakly or strongly stratified. The texture, in the upper 40 inches, is dominated by loam, fine sandy loam, clay loam, sandy clay loam, silt loam, or silty clay loam. Some pedons have thin sandy or clayey strata in the control section. Thicker sandy or clayey strata are common below 40 inches.

Oyster shell fragments: none to many throughout the pedon, with thin strata composed of 70 percent oyster shell fragments.
Reaction: ranges from slightly acid through moderately alkaline.
Salinity: ranges from slight to strong.
Electrical conductivity: 2 to 16 mmhos/cm but recently deposited materials can range up to 25 mmhos/cm for a few years following deposition.

^A and ^C horizon
Hue: 10YR or 2.5Y
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: stratified fine sandy loam, loam, sandy clay loam, silt loam or clay loam
Redox concentration: amount-none to common; color-shades of brown or yellow-
Redox depletion: amount-none to common; color-shades of gray-

^Cg horizon
Hue: 5YR to N
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 0 to 2
Texture: stratified fine sandy loam, loam, sandy clay loam, silt loam or clay loam
Redox concentration: amount-none to many; color-shades of red, brown or yellow-
Redox depletion: amount-none to many; color-shades of gray-

The ^A and upper ^C horizons have hue of 10YR or 2.5Y, values of 4 through 6, and chroma of 1 or 2. Mottles in shades of gray, brown, or yellow range from none to common.

The lower C horizons have hues of 5YR through 2.5Y, values of 4 through 8, and chromas of 0 through 4. Mottles in shades of gray, brown, yellow, or red range from none to many.

COMPETING SERIES: There are no series in the same family. Similar soils are the Ijam, and Veston series.
Ijam soils: a fine particle-size control section
Veston soils: fine-silty particle-size control section; did not form in dredge materials.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material: loamy dredge spoils
Landscape: Lagoons
Landform: Flats
Anthroprogenc feature: dredge spoil banks
Microfeature: mounds
Slope: 0 to 2 percent
Mean annual precipitation: 1143 to 1575 mm (45 to 62 in)
Mean annual air temperature: 20 to 22 degrees C (68 to 72 degrees F)
Frost-free period: 270 to 300 days
Elevation: 0 to 3 m (0 to 10 ft)

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the competing Ijam and Veston series and the Caplen, and Follet series.
Ijam soils: similar landform
Caplen, Follet, Mustang, and Veston soils: on lower landforms; on natural surfaces.
Caplen soils: clayey particle-size control section; on natural surfaces
Follet soils: fine-silty particle-size control section; are submerged

DRAINAGE AND PERMEABILITY:
Drainage class: somewhat poorly
Permeability class: moderate permeability above the water table. A permanent water table occurs between 2.5 and 5 feet and is at or near the surface for significant periods of time following heavy rains.
Runoff: very high
Flooding: Flooding: Occasionally or Frequently flooded for brief periods of time throughout the year.

USE AND VEGETATION:
Major land use: wildlife habitat
The native vegetation is highly variable in recently dredged areas but develops within a period of a few years into a community dominated by gulf cordgrass with lesser amounts of marsh hay cordgrass, little bluestem, knotroot bristlegrass, and various forbs such as baccharis and waxmyrtle.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
General Area: Mainly along the upper Gulf Coast of Texas
Land Resource Region: Atlantic and Gulf Coast Lowland Forest and Crop Region(T)
MLRA 150B Gulf Coast Saline Prairies of Texas.
Extent: extensive

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: Temple, Texas

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Galveston County, Texas; 1985. The name is from a community in Galveston County.

REMARKS: Sievers soils were formerly unclassified and mapped as Made land.
Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Particle size control section: 25 to 100 (10 to 40 in). (Cg horizon)
Anthropic epipedon: 0 to 30 cm (0 to 12 in). (A horizon)
Stratification from dredging operations
Salinity from seawater

TAXONOMIC VERSION: Keys to Soil Taxonomy, Twelfth Edition, 2014.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.